When it comes to the draft, I take fan sites like Phinphanatic, Phinsider, and us more seriously than the media mocks as we follow the Dolphins much closer and have a better idea of what we need. I like this pick .... a lot.

Brian Miller wrote:

Miami Dolphins – Roquon Smith – LB – Georgia

The Dolphins could go a lot of ways in this draft if it plays out similar to this mock. Cornerback could be a target, safety could be a target as well. Many believe that Miami will draft offensive guard Quentin Nelson who would improve the offensive line immediately.

The problem with Nelson is he is a guard and traditionally guards are not taken this high. That doesn’t mean they won’t. Another player to watch here is QB Baker Mayfield. Mayfield has the talent to become elite but he also carries with him an immaturity that have many turned off.

In the end, the pick should be a smart one and Roquon Smith fits the needs the Dolphins have at the position. Next season Miami will get Raekwon McMillan back and while he was penciled to start inside, he was an outside linebacker in college. This is where Smith being drafted could be a complication.

If Miami still views McMillan as the future interior linebacker then Miami doesn’t need Smith. However, there is always a but, there is rumors floating that Miami wants to transition to a 3-4 defense in 2019. If that is the case they will need two interior linebackers and a duo of Smith and McMillan could be especially good.

Smith makes a lot of sense for the Dolphins. He fills a need and is a stellar linebacker prospect. Miami skipped on LB last season when they could have drafted Reuben Foster who had a great rookie season. I don’t think they make that mistake again.

No team in the NFL was worse covering tight ends than the Dolphins. The gruesome statistics show that.

And ESPN’s Todd McShay believes Georgia linebacker Roquan Smith is well equipped to solve that problem, which I believe is as big as any of Miami’s shortcomings.

McShay said Smith has the skill set to defend modern tight ends and would be a good fit for the Dolphins with the 11th overall pick.

"He's the most athletic linebacker in this class," McShay told me. "He's a guy who fits perfect. A will linebacker. Can play off the line. Can cover, can rush a little bit too from sideline to sideline. He would be a perfect fit if that's how it works out."

Mel Kiper’s take on Smith, who is slotted 15th on his ESPN.com Big Board: "At 6-1, 225, he's extremely athletic. He can get sideline to sideline in a hurry. A season after having 95 total tackles and five tackles for loss, Smith [had 137 tackles, 14 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks]. He can blitz up the middle or off the edge, and I think he could play inside or outside linebacker. He's just a fun player to watch."

Pro Football Focus said Smith was the nation’s second-best linebacker in pass coverage this season and missed only 15 of his 238 career tackle attempts.

Being honest here, if Smith is healthy then it may be a stretch to think he gets to Miami. If he has some Reuben Foster type issues then maybe gets their guy and yes he would change the defense. McMillan could replace Timmons, Kiko goes back to the middle for 43 sets and off the field in passing situaitons, and Smith replaces Kiko on the weak side.

Problem is just about every team picking ahead of Miami will find reasons to take the kid, especially if they deem this QB crop to be similar to 2011 (side note, just saw a Blaine Gabbert comp for Josh Allen). The Vikings and Jaguars are riding incredible defenses into Championship weekend and other teams will take notice of how Smith can be part of that formula. Watch how awesome Myles Jack was for Jax and think of Smith in that mold.

The guy who's mocks I think are the best right now are Matt Miller's. He bases his picks off of what he hears, not what he would do or simple need additions. He has Smith going to Oakland at 9 and Miami taking Tremaine Edmunds (LB from VT) at 11. That would be an excellent consolation prize.

The popular name right now is safety Derwin James from FSU. Based on Matt Burke's comments he is a great fit. Can play FS and allow TJ McDonald to become a hybrid. McDonald is very comparable to Roquan Smith in height and weight, and we've seen he can be a tackling missile. I see this as the most likely scenario as of today, but free agency will change everything.

What could really make things interesting in the domino process is this:

Cleveland trades a pick for Alex Smith and decides to take Saquon Barkley first overall (which would make them a competitive team). Rather than spend more draft capital on QB they opt to groom Deshone Kizer under the tutelage of Alex Smith. With the 4th pick they can select Orlando Brown or Connor Williams to replace Joe Thomas.

The Giants hire Pat Shurmur as Head Coach and he convinces David Gettleman to bring Case Keenum over to NY while shipping Eli to a contender. They decide to further develop Davis Webb who has all of the tools to be a starter in the league. Knowing that they will probably lose Eli Apple and Ross Cockrell at CB they can take Minkah Fitzpatrick, or, add Roquan Smith to addres their brutal LB group.

The Broncos pay a king's ransom for Kirk Cousins. They can accept Paxton Lynch as a reasonable backup and take BPA. Cut Aqib Talib to free up money

I like Roquan. I would be very happy with the pick. BUT, I disagree with a few things in the article. I think Miami is FINE at CB and they won't seriously consider drafting one in the first round. Next, Roquan as well as Raekwon can BOTH play inside or outside. So taking Roquan would not be counter intuitive. In fact it could give some nice scheme subterfuge being able to play them interchangeably. Who is the Mike? A lot harder to tell when you can switch guys around.

Another thing. The more film I watch on Nelson. The more I am starting to think he might be worth taking that high. He is a fricken beast at guard. Tannehill and Drake BOTH would benefit highly from this pick. This would probably be my second choice. UNLESS you can trade back and hope he is still there.

I also like the OLB Edmunds. Nice player. High ceiling.

There is also a lot of good top notch DE talent early on.

The only 2 offensive positions I am comfortable using a 1st round pick are TE (If we trade back) and Guard (only if its Nelson.) I DO think we need a QB to compete and push Tannehill (Not in the 1st though). And Mayfield COULD potentially be there in the 2nd. Mayfield could learn a lot from Tannehill in how to handle himself. I'd love to see him sit and backup Tannehill a year. If Tannehill doesnt fully ascend you have yourself a nice backup QB developing ready to go the next year. If Mayfield is gone. There are a couple other QB's worth developing sitting there as well in the 2nd and 3rd.

Right now I'd be happy with the best available of Quentin Nelson, Derwin James, Minkah Fitzpatrick, Roquan Smith, or 1 of the 2 OTs Brown or Williams if they grade out well.

Deep down I'd like a few years of a Roquan/Raekwon LB corp.

After looking at the prospects and trudging through the preliminary multi-round mock drafts available so far, my early takeaways are:

1) Get your G and OT talent early if you want them to play this year. Not much more than burger-eating windy-day bench-anchors after that, unless you go the small school route where you're looking at a couple years to reap rewards, and we don't seem to have the coaches to develop them anyway.

2) There's a lot of CB and WR talent deep into this draft. I'm guessing that's the new normal in the college spread game.

3) There are quite a few TEs that caught quite a few balls in college. It might be a good idea to throw one of them a bone.